The true horror began.
The black vines writhing within the countless holes of the thrall's obsidian frame suddenly stirred with violent intent. They no longer moved like mere extensions of its body,they writhed like sentient entities, alive with a will of their own. Tendrils coiled and slithered, intertwining with grotesque precision as they converged upon the severed limb.
Before Aiden's very eyes, the thrall's arm began to regenerate.The process was neither slow nor incomplete,it was absolute.
Fibers of darkness wove themselves together, forming structure, muscle, and armor in a seamless reconstruction. Within mere moments, the limb that had been cleanly severed was restored entirely, as though it had never been lost.
The thrall flexed its arm. Once, then twice ass if testing its integrity.Acting as if nothing had happened.
Aiden forced himself to rise, his body trembling under the immense strain. His instincts confirmed what his eyes had already perceived,this entity was far beyond anything he had prepared for.
"This… is on another level…"His voice was hoarse, barely audible even to himself, yet he did not retreat.
Instead, he moved.
With deliberate effort, Aiden summoned forth his book once more. The radiant book materialized before him, hovering in the air as its pages began to turn. He flipped through them with urgency, each page heavier than the last...not in weight, but in burden.
He stopped,that was his limit. The next page… remained untouched.
Opening it would demand more than strength—it would require a level of mental fortitude he had yet to attain. To force it open now would not grant him power—it would destroy him.
Aiden clenched his jaw.
"I have to end this… now."
Dragging the battle any longer would only hasten his demise. His body was already nearing its breaking point. His control...still imperfect,would falter further under prolonged strain.
He believed this was his final opportunity, what he did not realize…was that the outcome had already been decided.
Even the Wisp at his side—proud and perceptive as it was—could not foresee what was about to unfold.
Aiden turned the page.
Golden motes of light began to emerge, flickering into existence above him like fragments of a celestial realm. At first, they were gentle—soft glimmers dancing in the air.
It intensified.
The motes multiplied, swirling together into a radiant storm that illuminated the entire battlefield. The dim light of dusk was overwhelmed, replaced by a brilliance so pure it seemed to reverse the passage of time itself.
It was as if dawn had returned as if the heavens themselves had descended.
Aiden took a single step forward.
With his last stand his figure disappeared. In the next instant, he stood behind the thrall.
"Sundering Slash" just a simple whisper..
Without hesitation, without restraint, he swung his longsword with every ounce of strength he possessed. The golden storm followed his motion, amplifying the strike into something far beyond a simple attack.
The blade descended to the thrall's body
Everything was shredded.
From wrist to head, its entire frame was cleaved apart, torn asunder by the overwhelming force of Aiden's final strike. The golden motes surged through the wound, disintegrating everything in their path.
Then silence follows,rhe storm almost faded,the light receded.
Aiden staggered, coughing violently as blood spilled from his lips. His golden eyes, once radiant with power, dimmed slightly.
He stood barely
"…I won…"The words escaped him in a whisper, the thrall had been destroyed.
He had done it.Against all odds, against all logic, he had slain an Elite Thrall.
A feat unprecedented.A miracle.
He forced himself upright, turning his body with great difficulty. His limbs felt like lead, his strength nearly depleted, yet he began to move—step by step—toward the direction his Wisp had indicated.
But…that victory—was fleeting.
In an instant...A massive tail erupted from behind him.
It pierced through his back, bursting out from his chest in a grotesque display of force. A gaping hole formed within his body, the damage so catastrophic it defied comprehension.
Everything stopped.No one understood what had just occurred.Not Aiden,not the Wisp and not even the observers.
*****
Within the grand chamber, the assembled elites had witnessed what they believed to be a historic moment.
They saw Aiden's final strike,they saw the thrall's body torn apart.
They erupted,cheers filled the hall. Voices rose in triumph, celebrating the emergence of a new hero—a prodigy who had accomplished the impossible.
"The first Wisper to slay an Elite Thrall !!" Some exclaimed. This was definitely the first ever newly awakened Wisper that managed to kill an elite Thrall!...
"Unprecedented!" Other muttered
"Remarkable!" Some exclaimed
Even among them, one figure stood apart.Aiden's father.A man of immense stature and authority.
For the first time....He smiled,pride flickered within his eyes.His son had exceeded all expectations.
But everything was short lived,that pride was built upon illusion.A mirage.
A fleeting, fragile hope.
*****
Back on the battlefield…the truth revealed itself.the thrall's body began to reform.
From the wrist…to the arm…to the torso…to the head…
Every fragment reassembled, drawn together by the same writhing vines that pulsed with unnatural life. Within seconds, the creature stood whole once more—four meters tall, its obsidian frame unmarred.
Untouched and unharmed.As if the devastating attack had never occurred.
It looked down at Aiden, at the "insect" that had dared to oppose it.With casual indifference, it lifted him. The same way it had lifted others. The same way it had ended countless lives.
Its arm extended outward, grasping at the air in that familiar, dreadful motion
..to the death itself.
A talisman appeared.A faint glow, fragile yet resolute.The thrall crushed it.
Without hesitation and effort
A silent declaration.A death sentence.
Aiden's eyes dimmed all of his strength left his body.
His sword slipped from his grasp, clattering against the ground as his limbs went limp.
Perhaps...It was a better end.
A fleeting mercy within an inevitable fate....(You are not the main character, fool!!! You are ruining the novel's name!!! \(°^°)/ ....)
*****
The chamber fell into silence.A suffocating, absolute silence.For a brief moment—
No one spoke.No one moved.
A blinding light erupted.
The entire space trembled violently, cracks forming along its structure as an overwhelming force surged outward.
"STOP, DRAKONIS!!!"The voice that thundered through the chamber was deep, commanding—yet laced with urgency.
But it was too late.t he man had lost himself.
Sanity had abandoned him, replaced by a fury so intense it threatened to consume everything in its path. His power lashed out uncontrollably, tearing through the surroundings without distinction.
Nothing was spared.
The other figures within the chamber reacted immediately, retreating to a safe distance. None dared to confront him directly—not in this state.
A man who had lost reason…was a calamity unto himself, to stand in his way was to invite death.
Avoidance was the only option, one by one, they withdrew.
No one continued watching.No one needed to, they already knew.
What awaited the remaining candidates was no longer a trial It was an execution.
Even Chris...steadfast and composed felt the weight of that realization. Yet, despite everything, he hesitated.A fragment of hope remained.
"Maybe…"His gaze lingered on the fading projection.
"Just maybe… someone can kill it."
But deep within....even he knew, that hope…was fragile.